Hexagram 49: Ge

Lake over Fire · 泽火革 · Tendency: Inauspicious

Structure

• Number: 49 (King Wen sequence)
• Symbol: ䷰
• Upper trigram: Dui (Lake)
• Lower trigram: Li (Fire)
• Lines: yang yin yang yang yang yin (bottom to top)

The statement

已日乃孚。元亨。利贞，悔亡。

——《周易》

What this hexagram indicates

This hexagram signals the need to change old ways. It is suitable for reforming processes, adjusting relationships, or switching strategies, but first seek understanding and trust. Change cannot be driven by emotion alone; drastic modifications without adequate preparation may provoke backlash.

A Buddhist reading

Zhixu treats Ge (Revolution) as the work of transforming ingrained temperament, comparing it to metal refined in fire: while it burns the metal suffers, and only once it has become a vessel is the power of the fire trusted. Change made too soon convinces nobody; change that fits its moment, as heaven renews the four seasons, lets regret dissolve. On the image of regulating the calendar he remarks that time has no substance of its own and appears only along with mind. The true revolution is of the self. When others reform the face but not the heart, do not press them; stay upright and let them change quietly.

After Ouyi Zhixu (1599-1655), whose Chan commentary on the Changes reads each hexagram as a stage of practice.

The statement is quoted from the Book of Changes, which is in the public domain. The English reading on this page was prepared for this library.

Related hexagrams

• Previous: Hexagram 48: Jing
• Next / Inverted: Hexagram 50: Dingthe whole figure turned upside down
• Opposite: Hexagram 4: Mengevery line changed to its opposite
• Nuclear: Hexagram 44: Goulines two to four below, three to five above

Related

• Liu Yao Divination ChartLiu Yao casts a hexagram about one specific matter and reads its structure. Unlike BaZi or Zi Wei, which describe a person, Liu Yao describes how a situation stands at a particular moment. This page walks through the full process from casting to attribution.
• Mei Hua Yi Shu CalculatorMei Hua Yi Shu is traditionally attributed to Shao Yong. What sets it apart is how freely it casts: a time, a spoken number, a direction or something noticed in passing will all serve. It attaches no stems and no relatives, reading the trigrams directly. This page covers casting through to the subject and object.